Melanie Hill, front left, Alyson Duffey, back left, Tracie Kagy Hannah Smith and Blair Stapp, at right, laugh while having some cocktails together on Friday, May 31, at NoEntiendo Bar and Grill in Boulder.
(
Jeremy Papasso
)

During the past 12 months, the operators of K's China -- the Chinese restaurant and bar on Boulder's University Hill that has catered to University of Colorado students since 1995 -- were frequent subjects of marathon, hours-long meetings before the city's liquor board.

The Boulder Police Department's alcohol enforcement officer and some Hill residents claimed the business with its rooftop patio and popular Volcano -- a five-shot drink served in a 48-ounce glass -- was a haven for loud music, disorderly behavior and underage drinking.

Boulder's Beverage Licensing Authority ultimately declared K's China to be a risk to public health and safety, slapping the restaurant and bar with a pair of license suspensions and 20 stipulations the business had to meet in order to continue selling alcohol.

This spring, K's China quietly wound down operations at 1325 Broadway as its owners sold the business to employee Kyle McNamara, who rebranded it as NoEntiendo, a restaurant and bar featuring a fusion of South American and American cuisine.

Yet while K's China may have shuttered, its liquor-licensing woes could live on.

Under a newly instituted city policy, the enforcement history and any stipulations required of a licensed establishment can be transferred to the new owner of that liquor license, said Mishawn Cook, the Boulder's licensing clerk.

Currently, every person who comes into NoEntiendo -- regardless of whether they plan to drink -- must show ID. And those who order alcohol are required to show a second form of ID, city officials said.

NoEntiendo is operating with a temporary liquor license through July 13. Whether it inherits K's China's sullied licensing past and the conditions that K's owners say hamstrung their business could be determined this week.

The Beverage Licensing Authority on Wednesday is scheduled to consider the liquor license transfer to NoEntiendo.

"I'm going to take a deep breath and see how it goes," McNamara said.

The record for K's China includes two violations that resulted in suspensions and 12 days held in abeyance until Jan.

Mariana Eraso, of Boulder, sips on a drink while having some cocktails with friends on Friday, May 31, at NoEntiendo Bar and Grill in Boulder.
(
Jeremy Papasso
)

16, 2014, Cook said. If a violation occurs before that date, those 12 days can be tacked onto whatever penalty is enforced.

The two violations for K's China occurred last year and were the first for the business in at least a decade.

The activity surrounding K's China and NoEntiendo also is occurring in the shadows of broader discussions by the city of Boulder that could modify or restrict liquor licenses on the Hill.

The Boulder City Council may revise the waiver that allows liquor licenses within 500 feet of the University of Colorado.

Revoking that exemption and restoring the buffer would mean new liquor licenses would not be granted in most of the Hill's commercial district or in much of the Basemar shopping center at Baseline Road and Broadway. Existing liquor licenses would not be affected and could still be transferred.

Boulder officials also are considering changing the types of liquor licenses allowed within that buffer zone, perhaps limiting them to wine and beer.

City staff members are expected to present several options to the council later this year.

Liquor woes

Bo Mai, co-owner and president of K's China, claimed recently that he felt the city and police overstepped their bounds and targeted his business with "ridiculous" and heavy-handed requirements that other license-holders have not faced.

Mai said he was frustrated and maddened that his license was suspended twice without his business ever receiving a ticket for liquor-license violations.

"What the hell? You've got to do things with evidence," Mai said. " ... I think this is not right. This is not a good thing for a city."

Mai said because of the liquor-license issues, a sale of his business fell through and he lost $70,000 that he shaved off the purchase price in order for McNamara to afford the business.

The current licensing issues for K's China began last June when Mai appeared before the city's Beverage Licensing Authority for a liquor-license renewal.

At that hearing, Carlene Hofmann, a Boulder Police Department alcohol enforcement officer, presented a packet of police reports indicating prior responses to K's China, and three neighbors testified objecting to the renewal. The neighbors alleged that the bar produced excessive noise, had problems with rowdy customers and served alcohol to people under 21.

Based on the testimony, the board members found that K's China was "guilty of a deliberate and willful violation of applicable law and the state regulations, and that the public, health, safety and welfare imperatively requires emergency action" by the Beverage Licensing Authority.

The hearing was continued to July 6 and K's China was given a choice of agreeing to a 15-day temporary suspension or to voluntarily stop serving liquor until the next official Beverage Licensing Authority hearing on July 19.

Mai and K's China officials took the 15 days.

The Hill restaurant completed its suspension and K's China returned to the liquor board for the early July hearing. After five hours of discussion, some initial conditions -- including the use of an ID scanner, monthly check-ins with the liquor board and noise-reduction steps -- were proposed and a decision on the license was postponed until September.

The fall hearing brought a marathon nine-hour discussion that resulted in the board renewing the liquor license of K's China but imposing a series of 20 conditions that included: checking the age of every person who enters the premises, submitting monthly sales reports, not selling drinks with more than two shots of alcohol, not serving more than one drink to a single customer in a single transaction and not offering drink specials after 10 p.m.

The stipulation agreement was signed by Oct. 1, 2012, by Mai and Boulder's assistant city attorney and a Beverage Licensing Authority official.

New direction

Mai agreed to the conditions, Hofmann said, adding that it is incumbent upon her to make sure those stipulations are being met.

"We expect that everybody in this town that owns a liquor license to follow all the rules and the regulations," she said, "and if that happens, we don't have a problem."

Later that fall, K's China received seven violations that included failing to check the IDs of the state liquor enforcement official and two plainclothes Boulder police officers.

Three of the violations related to William Keener, a 19-year-old who was cited on Oct. 24, 2012, for being a minor in possession of alcohol after two officers spotted him urinating in front of Abo's Pizza on the Hill. Keener told officers that he drank alcohol at K's China.

When K's China appeared before the liquor board in January, Keener recanted his original statement, saying he drank at a house party and at Abo's, and lied about drinking at K's China to "get the attention off" of him.

The violations related to Keener were dropped and, after a six-hour hearing, K's China was handed a three-day suspension for the remaining four violations.

Board member Tim McMurray moved to drop all seven violations, adding that the stipulation requiring K's China to check patrons' ages could be read to mean that every person who entered the restaurant -- including adults and children that are not purchasing alcohol -- would have to show two IDs.

"As it currently stands, it is true that every person who goes through the doors of K's China, which is now NoEntiendo, has to show a form of ID to pick up food or eat in the restaurant," city spokeswoman Sarah Huntley said. "They only have to show a second form of ID if they're ordering alcohol."

What remains unclear, she added, is what to do about children who come into the restaurant, as they might not have identification. The Beverage Licensing Authority tabled discussion on that matter until the June 19 hearing.

If the liquor-license transfer is successful and the conditions come along with the license, McNamara said he is concerned about what that might mean for his new business venture.

"I'm really hoping what will happen is we get the transfer and they can see everything that we're doing and planning on doing," McNamara said. "We're following all the rules. Maybe they'll get rid of the stipulations so we can sell (customers) food without carding."

McNamara said he's hoping the new concept could breathe new life into the business, appeal to a wider variety of people and ease any concerns from the city, police and neighbors.

He said he's continued to communicate with Boulder police and has started the "Hill mediation project," which is aimed to close the rift between students and residents.

"I not only want to be successful, but to give back to the community in whatever way I can," he said.

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